California man wanted for child porn arrested on Stock Island

A 58-year-old alleged sex offender wanted by California authorities since 2016 for possession of hundreds of images of child pornography was found by the Sheriff’s Office and arrested Friday on Shrimp Road.

Michael Patrick Manning, formerly of the 6800 block of Shrimp Road on Stock Island, will be returned to California to face the charges. He is currently in jail under no bail.

Chico, California Police charged Manning in 2016 with sexually soliciting a minor under the age of 14, engaging in sex acts with a minor and possession of 600 images of child pornography.

The case began locally at 1:30 a.m. when Deputy Anthony Buscemi, Sgt. David Lariz and other deputies responded to 6811 Shrimp Road regarding an alarm. A man was found in an unlocked trailer on the side of the property. The man identified himself as “William Wallace Littlejohn.” The man said he didn’t have an ID. Deputy Buscemi found no record of the false name provided. The man was detained. A search of the unlocked trailer ensued. A military contractor ID was found with the name “William W. Littlejohn.” Several checks written out to “William LittleJohn” were found. A Passport was found with that name. It appeared to forged or fake. U.S. Border Patrol ran the Passport information. It came back as belonging to a man in Utah. Sgt. Lariz contacted the FBI. FBI agents responded to the scene and they assisted the Sheriff’s Office throughout the remainder of the investigation.

Naval Air Station Key West authorities were also contacted and they subsequently arrived. The man refused to speak further when NAS authorities arrived. The man was taken to jail and booked under the name “John Doe” as the Sheriff’s Office continued to work in identifying him. Lower Keys Detectives Sgt. Linda Mixon, Spencer Curry and David Fernandez were assigned to the case.

Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Corrections Deputies successfully identified “William Wallace Littlejohn” as Manning soon thereafter. Manning’s warrants for the sex-related charges out of California were then realized. Detectives collected a smartphone and laptop from the trailer where Manning was found.

According to California authorities: Manning did not show up to a court hearing regarding the child sex/pornography charges. His vehicle was subsequently found parked on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, suggesting he may have wanted authorities to believe he had taken his own life. Two nationwide be-on-the-lookout alerts for Manning were issued by federal authorities thereafter— one regarding the warrants and another as per a missing person as Manning was then possibly on the lam.

The Sheriff’s Office voided both BOLOs on Friday.

The U.S. Border Patrol, FBI and the U.S. Navy all contributed in Manning’s arrest.

An electronic search of Manning’s computer and phone is underway. Manning was charged locally with giving law enforcement a false name and identification. More charges may be pending.

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